Open Siemens PLC projects without TIA Portal or STEP 7
A machine comes with its PLC project on a USB stick, the integrator sends a .zap archive, or a
project was saved with a newer TIA Portal than the one on your laptop. Upload the project and get
a printout that reads like the one TIA Portal or SIMATIC Manager makes: LAD networks drawn with
rails, contacts, coils, branches and boxes, FBD networks as boxes and wires, the tag names and
comments above each operand, then SCL and STL code, block interfaces, data blocks, tag tables and
a cross reference. The same content comes as a searchable HTML viewer that works offline, as
block sources and as tables.
What to upload
| Program | Files | Versions read |
|---|---|---|
| TIA Portal project archive | .zap11 to .zap21 | V11 to V20 tested |
| TIA Portal project folder | the folder with the .ap* file and its System folder, as a .zip; or System/PEData.plf alone | V11 to V20 tested |
| STEP 7 (SIMATIC Manager) project | the project folder with the .s7p file, as a .zip, or a STEP 7 archive | V5.5 to V5.7 tested |
| STEP 5 program | the .S5D program file, with its Z0.SEQ symbol file if you have it, or the folder as a .zip | S5D files |
The .ap17 (or .ap18 and so on) file alone holds only the project's name and settings: the
program is in the System folder next to it, so zip the whole project folder.
What you get
- Printout (PDF) with a contents page and bookmarks: project information, hardware with CPU types and order numbers, every block in the order of the project tree with its interface and networks, data blocks with their values, PLC tags and constants, watch and force tables, and a cross reference of every tag and address. A4 or Letter.
- Viewer (HTML): one file with the project tree on the left, the drawn networks on the right and a search box for tags, addresses and comments. It needs no internet connection.
- Block sources (ZIP): SCL blocks as
.scl, STL blocks as.awl, data blocks as.dband PLC data types as.udt, in the external source form that STEP 7 and TIA Portal import ("Generate blocks from source"). - Tables: tags and constants, block interfaces with data block values, and the cross reference as CSV, and one Excel workbook with sheets for blocks, networks, interfaces and data, tags, watch tables, hardware and the cross reference.
The result page shows a summary, the list of blocks and the first block drawn, so you can check the project before downloading anything.
TIA Portal projects
Every PLC in the project is read: S7-1200, S7-1500, S7-300, S7-400 and ET 200 CPUs. LAD and FBD networks are drawn with their titles and comments, including timers, counters, edge boxes, comparators, MOVE and calls of other blocks with their parameters. SCL blocks keep their code line by line and STL blocks their statements. Global data blocks, instance data blocks and PLC data types come with their members, start values and comments; tag tables with addresses and comments. HMI devices are listed with their screens and HMI tags; the screens themselves are not drawn.
STEP 7 and STEP 5 projects
STEP 7 blocks are read from the compiled code and shown in the language they were written in:
LAD and FBD networks drawn, STL as statements. A LAD or FBD network built in a way the tool
cannot draw is shown as STL and marked so. The symbol table gives the names and comments of
inputs, outputs, flags, timers and counters. STEP 5 programs come out as STL with the symbols and
comments from the Z0.SEQ file. STL can be shown with international (A, AN, O) or German
(U, UN, O) instruction names; by default the tool picks the one the project itself uses.
Comparing two versions
Upload the older project first and the newer one under "Second version to compare". The comparison report (PDF, HTML and Excel) lists added, removed and changed blocks, networks (each changed network drawn before and after), interface members, data block values, tags, comments and hardware. The two uploads may be in different formats, for example a STEP 7 project and its migrated TIA Portal version.
What is not shown
Know-how protected blocks are stored encrypted: they are listed with their names and interfaces, but not their code. S7-GRAPH sequences are listed with their interface, and the networks say that the sequence is not shown. A file that is cut off or damaged gives a message saying so instead of a partial printout.
Privacy
Files are processed on our server only to produce your downloads, and the results are deleted automatically after 30 minutes, or straight away with "Delete now". Project names, tag names and comments never go into our statistics.